Universal Health Coverage for Wrestling Participants: Moustapha Gueye, former Tiger of Fass, wants insurance cards for everyone

As part of the expansion of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to include those involved in sports and the informal sector, retired wrestling champion Moustapha Guèye, better known as the "Tiger of Fass," was received in audience by the Director General of the Senegalese Agency for Universal Health Coverage (SEN-CSU), Dr. El Hadji Séga Guèye. This meeting marks a new step in the Agency's commitment to extending social protection in healthcare to wrestlers and the entire Senegalese wrestling ecosystem.

A respected figure in the arena, serving a national cause

The second holder of the "Tiger of Fass" title after his older brother Mbaye Guèye, Moustapha Guèye made his mark on the Senegalese wrestling scene during the 1990s and 2000s before becoming a moral authority figure in the sport. He is now president of the Dakar Regional Wrestling League. With his strong influence among wrestlers, stables, promoters, and everyone involved in the wrestling world, he is in a privileged position to represent the sector to public authorities and to mobilize the community around issues of social protection.

An exposed sector, long left on the margins of health coverage

Wrestling, a national sport and major cultural phenomenon in Senegal, mobilizes tens of thousands of direct and indirect stakeholders: professional and amateur wrestlers, coaches, physical trainers, stable members, fight organizers, and all the other people involved in the arena. Many of them work in precarious conditions, without a social safety net, even though practicing this combat sport exposes people to significant physical risks.

It is precisely this gap that the Agency intends to fill through its enrollment schemes for the informal sector, continuing the initiatives already undertaken with other trades and professional sectors in the country.

The objectives of the collaboration

During the discussions, the two parties outlined a partnership aimed at facilitating the enrollment of wrestlers and members of the wrestling ecosystem in health insurance schemes and CSU schemes, raising awareness among stables, regional leagues and arena stakeholders about the importance of having health coverage, leveraging the reputation and mobilization of respected figures like the Tiger of Fass to reach an audience traditionally difficult to enroll in formal social protection mechanisms, and ensuring the sustainability of this approach through outreach campaigns conducted in conjunction with arenas, local wrestling governance and relevant sports federations.

This approach is part of the overall strategy of the SEN-CSU

This initiative complements the partnerships already established by SEN-CSU with several sectors — armed forces, academia, cultural actors — as part of its strategy to extend health coverage to the most exposed and least covered population categories, particularly those operating in the informal economy and the rural world.

By associating such an emblematic personality as the Tiger of Fass with this dynamic, the Agency intends to give new impetus to the enrollment of wrestlers and, more broadly, to illustrate its desire to make Universal Health Coverage a tangible reality for all segments of Senegalese society, including those gathered around wrestling, a discipline deeply rooted in the national identity.

The practical details of implementing this partnership — enrollment of wrestlers, awareness-raising in stables and arenas, involvement of regional leagues — should be specified in the coming days through an agreement that will be duly signed by both parties.